MALDEF fights for Educational Rights

On March 9^th, 2016 the Mexican American Defense and Educational Fund sued the University system of Georgia for denying immigrants with deportation deferrals the right to pay in-state tuition. Their lawsuit argues that this Georgia State practice violates clauses of the Constitution, such as the Supremacy and Equal Protections clause. Additionally, MALDEF argues that they are violating U.S. law that anyone present with legal permission is entitled to in-state tuition. The university system’s board of regents disagrees, however, and believes that students awarded deportation deferrals through the 2012 DACA act, the Deferred Action through Childhood Arrivals program, are not lawfully present. This is why Georgia has decided to refuse in-state tuition and why MALDEF is now stepping in.

MALDEF believes that the ideas and regulations being instituted here are having terrible effects on the Latino community in the United States, but especially within Georgia. President and General Counsel, Thomas Saenz, spoke on this subject suggesting, “In an era when too many purported leaders maliciously target hardworking immigrants prepared to contribute to our nation’s future success, this Georgia university policy is antithetical to the state’s own interests.” He then continues to argue how unlawful the policy is and how MALDEF’s lawsuit, “promises to reopen the doors of higher education to some of the state’s best and brightest students.” Georgia is essentially telling well-qualified students, mostly from the Latino Community, that they are not in-state students even though they have lived in the state for most of their lives. Victor Viramontes, MALDEF National Senior Counsel steps in commenting “These state educators are effectively making it harder for Georgia’s students to become educated, and they are violating federal constitutional guarantees in executing their destructive educational policies.”

MALDEF has a very strong case and this lawsuit fits right in to their mission to provide better educational opportunities for Latinos through litigation. Additionally, they are implementing strategies that call on basic rights laid out in the United States Constitution. This therefore suggests ethical appeals of logic and Americanism.

In the book, “Persuasion and Social Movements,” Stewart, Smith, and Denton dive into some of the difficulties that are faced with social movements as they try to change societal norms or values, which is essentially what MALDEF is attempting to achieve here. They stress that although movements have been classified as a struggle for either, in reality, they affect both norms and values. This is due to the fact that you cannot truly change one without causing an affect on the other. They argue that social movements that strive to enhance values of equality and justice ultimately result in legislative and court decisions. These are examples of normative changes within our society, and by fighting Georgia in this case MALDEF is attempting to emphasize values of equality and impact legal changes to make this possible.

 

Citations:

MALDEF FILES SUIT AGAINST UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA FOR DENYING DEFERRED ACTION STUDENTS IN-STATE TUITION.” 9 Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

Stewart, Charles J., Craig Allen Smith, and Robert E. Denton. Persuasion and Social Movements. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland, 1984. Print.

 

 

Impacts at a Community Level

In their news release on February 10^th, MALDEF announced that they reached a settlement agreement with Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD ) in San Diego, California. This agreement focused on changing the election system that is currently an at-large process to a by-district system for all five of the positions for the Board of Directors of FPUD. MALDEF has been tackling this issue since last summer when they initially filed a lawsuit as they argued that the current system violated the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. They believed that the at-large system discriminated against the Latino minority votes of the area because it prevented Latinos from electing the candidates they favored. President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz emphasized, “like many special districts, FPUD has a tremendous impact on the lives of its residents, so it is critical that the FPUD Board represent all of its residents… This settlement protects the rights of Latino voters and places the district on track for a more robust and inclusive future.”

With over 44% of the overall population being represented by the Latinos, it is important to add diversity to the board, which hasn’t seen a Latino serve in more than two decades. This settlement will help ensure there is a greater opportunity for Latinos to elect their desired candidate and MALDEF has also committed to personally help Fallbrook in order to make sure the community is being heard in the FPUD election system.

MALDEF’s strategies of remaining persistent and using the strong supporting argument of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 paid off as they were able to settle with FPUD instead of having to enter the complete trial phase of the legal system. Curtler emphasizes in his book, “Ethical Arguments, Critical Thinking in EthicS,” that it is important that, “we learn how to construct and deconstruct and what it makes them good (strong) or bad (weak).” (PG. 84) By bringing the California Voting Rights Act MALDEF is bringing in what Curtler calls “strict implication” as “they obey rules and implied premises” of the past with the voting rights act. This makes their argument structure strong and definitely aided their case.

Additionally, the messages they are sending through this complaint with the Fallbrook Public Utility District emphasizes their importance of making the Latino voice heard. Their commitment to help Fallbrook reveals how MALDEF cares about personal communities, making strong impacts, and having victories in a vast range of locations and legal settings. Although MALDEF is a large civic advocacy group that has impacts at the national and Supreme Court level, cases such as these really showcase MALDEF’s desire to affect people on a personal level. They want to show communities that they represent their individual issues and needs.

MALDEF’S decision to settle here is an ethical one because they are ultimately defending the voice of Latinos. This is at the root of their mission and their willingness to help shows their commitment to social change by helping communities by recommending concepts and community behavior regarding what is right and wrong.

 

 

Citations:

Curtler, H. M. (2004). Ethical argument: Critical thinking in ethics. New York: Oxford University Press.

News Releases. (2016, February 10). Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://www.maldef.org/news/releases/index.html

Confronting Employment Discrimination

In their news release on January 26^th , 2016 MALDEF announced that they defeated yet another effort by the national airline cleaning company Gate Gourmet, Inc to avoid a trial in court for employment discrimination. This third-party contractor for Delta Airlines, which cleans and stocks planes in between flights, implemented a rule where they forbade their employees from speaking Spanish while also enforcing an “English Only” policy. Gate Gourmet, Inc has attempted numerous times to get this case dismissed, however the Court has officially decided to move forward due to MALDEF’s persistence and string argument, and they are now looking forward to fighting for justice.

This case definitely suits what MALDEF is attempting to change at the national level in terms of incorporating the Latin culture into the American culture. By focusing on how Latinos communicate in this legal setting, they are emphasizing how all of the elements, even the language of the culture, need to be accepted by the United States, not just certain ones. Eliminating workplace discrimination on the basis of language is, after all, a key vision of MALDEF and by fighting for this right to speak Spanish, they emphasize the power and importance they see in communication. With these Spanish-speaking employees of Gate Gourmet, MALDEF is simply trying to seek justice for the right to work without harassment and the right to implement the Latino culture into everyday life.

Another reason this is an important case for MALDEF and for their advancement of Latino equality, is because the Spanish language is one of the greatest and most obvious characteristics of the Latin culture. If a company is prohibiting the use of Spanish, then they are essentially portraying the message that they prohibit the Latin culture and its people. If they end up being successful, this case will prove to be an accomplishment for their overarching theme of ending discrimination. Although this case does not involve litigation for education, immigrant, or voting rights, I think it is a very clever strategy for progressing MALDEF’s ultimate goals. The decision to take this case and defend these Spanish- Speaking employees showcases their great desire to further Latino participation and inclusion within life here in the U.S., and speaking strategically, I think it is a very smart move on their behalf as the goal resonates completely with the social change they are attempting to accomplish.

 

Citation:

“MALDEF DEFEATS REPEATED EFFORTS BY NATIONAL AIRLINE CLEANING COMPANY TO AVOID TRIAL IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CASE.” MALDEF DEFEATS REPEATED EFFORTS BY NATIONAL AIRLINE CLEANING COMPANY TO AVOID TRIAL IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CASE. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

MALDEF Files Against Texas HB 11 Bill

Recently I have been focusing on things that MALDEF has accomplished and changed in the past. But what are they doing to advance Latino equality today?

On January 25^th, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas, MALDEF filed a lawsuit against the Texas House Bill 11’s immigration law that implements border security initiatives and was signed nearly a year ago by Governor Greg Abott. MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, argues that the “HB 11 accomplishes nothing but to embroil Texas in litigation and to divide the state in the name of political gamesmanship… Moreover, the law targets humanitarian service providers and property owners simply conducting business with other Texans.”

The plaintiffs in this case include the Executive director of RAICES, which is an organization that helps find shelter and provide legal advice to undocumented immigrants in the United States, and two different landlords that do not ask their tenants to provide their immigration status in order to rent from them. The main issue that MALDEF is focusing on under this HB 11 is that these individuals are now targeted because anyone who “encourages or induces an individual to enter or remain in this country is in violation of federal law by concealing, harboring, or shielding that person from detection,” with a felony charge.

MALDEF is fighting this case because they argue “Texas already has enough laws to protect us from human smuggling without targeting religious and non-profit organizations that care for immigrants.” Nina Perales, the Vice President of Litigation of MALDEF also continues to state that, “The U.S. Supreme Court, as well as federal courts in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina have all struck down, as unconstitutional, state-enacted immigrant harboring laws like the one in HB 11.”

MALDEF is hard at work fighting this case and has sent out an official legal complaint questioning the constitutionality of this law. Only a day later, the local media picked up this story and began to write about it and spread the word of what was occurring. As we now live in a new, digital age that is cluttered by mass media, this platform has power unlike ever before. The media helps inform audiences, provide information and entertainment, generate political ideas, structure policies and agendas, and most importantly for MALDEF, the media helps mobilize and spread the messages of political and social change organizations, figures, and events.

The complicated issues that surround media that MALDEF needs to be aware of are that media can either be used positively in order to further a cause or it can be used to oppose a cause. Sometimes media looks for the “drama” that is attached with stories of these groups and won’t pick up their messages because they don’t feel inclined to do so. In addition, the media can prove to be harmful at times as they display inaccurate representation of facts. Mobilization and support heavily depend on the media and how the media decides to portray the news is the key to both public persuasion and sentiments. MALDEF will have to keep an eye on the media as this complaint they filed progresses, and realize that their actions have implications not only in the legal scene but also the within media and society.

 

CITATIONS

“MALDEF Sues Texas Over Immigrant Harboring Law.” San Antonio Current. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

“MALDEF FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING TEXAS IMMIGRANT HARBORING LAW.” MALDEF FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING TEXAS IMMIGRANT HARBORING LAW. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Immigration in Politics Today

Continuing on the topic of Latino immigration, in this post I will be focusing on the current political climate, how the issue of immigration is gaining momentum within this climate, and what MALDEF is doing in order to advocate for the preservation of rights for immigrants who have come to the U.S. for matters regarding personal and economic freedoms.

In mid June of 2015, reality television host and acclaimed businessman Donald Trump gave an official presidential candidacy announcement. He stated, “we are going to make our country great again” and discussed some key points he wanted to focus on throughout his campaign. He proceeded to give his speech for his presidential campaign launch and focused on the issue of immigration, specifically immigration from Mexico. He then openly expressed that our country has a serious problem and that, “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.” He then continues and explains, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He openly degraded Latinos in his speech for Presidency of the United States and insulted all of us, not just Mexicans.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition after hearing these claims did not stand back. They ended up commenting on these defamations and called Trump out after for his “bigoted, racist, anti-Latino rant.” Donald Trump did not like these comments they made towards him and threatened to face them with a lawsuit if they did not put a stop to their advocacy efforts as an organization. Donald took these strong remarks they made, after he arguably did the same, if not worse, as he broadcasted the original racist comments that sparked their response.

This is where MALDEF stepped in.

They communicated that the National Hispanic Media Coalition would not render their defense of the Latino community to Trump and the outrageous comments he made during his Presidential announcement. Trump wanted a legal fight and the NHMC was prepared to give it to him with the aid of MALDEF. Tom Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) agreed to defend them against any and all litigation menaces. They were aware that Donald Trump was a major opponent, but MALDEF, like their defendant the NHCMC, was prepared to tackle this battle. This legal stance never ended up occurring as tensions eventually eased, however, MALDEF was prepared to follow through with their legal expertise and uphold their reputation as the “legal firm of the Latino community.”

Donald Trump represents the exact opposite of what MALDEF is trying to achieve as a civil rights advocacy group. Trump is spreading Latino hate, increasing anti-immigration state sentiments, providing legal and factual inaccuracies, and creating cultural divisions. Despite all of these treacherous statements, Trump has actually gained popularity. Although it is difficult to believe, the reason why he is gaining popularity is because of his ability to manipulate communication strategies, enhance the power of fear, and “other-ise” Latinos.

Many parallels can be seen with Trump and the techniques and strategies that were being implemented with McCarthyism during the Red Scare. Senator McCarthy cared little about the accuracy and consequences of the charges he was making and took advantage of intimidation and persuasiveness with suggestions. These same communication strategies of the past are now being used by Trump today. The bullying tactics and exaggeration of both politicians prey on the American fear of the “other. In McCarthy’s era it was the fear of communism. Today, Trump is making the “other” Mexican immigrants who are here to threaten American way of life much like communism did back in the day. MALDEF strives to minimize these feelings by making immigration reform at the state, local, and federal levels one of their top priorities. They publicly support and fight for sensible, effective changes to U.S. immigration policy and Donald Trump is a figure that is a threat for the more inclusive America that MALDEF is actively trying to progress.

 

Citations:

Bennett, Anita. “Donald Trump Threatens to Sue National Hispanic Media Coalition.” N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.

“Here’s Donald Trump’s Presidential Announcement Speech.” Time. Time, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.

“MALDEF.” MALDEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.

Wall, Wendy. “Anti-Communism in the 1950s.” (n.d.): n. pag. Web.